Montessori charter plan spurs questions

LEESBURG — At the Lake Montessori and Learning Institute, a small private Leesburg school, kids use colorful beads, wooden puzzles and bright cubes to learn math. Many work individually sprawled on the floor or huddled at tables during class time.

The process is aimed at letting kids do more hands-on learning and work independently, a Montessori hallmark. But the tiny school, which has about 100 students, has struggled with declining enrollment in recent years, something owner Hugo Hormazabal attributes to the bad economy. But a new deal with the Lake school district could change the campus' future.

School Board members recently gave Hormazabal approval to move forward with negotiations for a new Montessori charter school that would likely end up replacing the private school.

Hormazabal is asking the district permission to open a charter campus next year to serve about 162 kindergarten-through-third-grade students, according to his application. The school would cost the district about $1.2million a year to operate, with plans eventually to serve more than 380 students up to the eighth grade.

But some questioned Hormazabal's relationship between the private and charter schools. School-district attorney Steve Johnson said private schools are not eligible to convert to taxpayer-funded charter schools, and he will have to make sure the charter school would be "operating independently from the private school."

Hormazabal said he hopes the new charter Montessori will be placed on the existing private-school site in Leesburg, employ the same teachers and serve many of the same students as the private school. He plans to shut down the private school before opening the charter school.

"It's going to be closed down one day, and the charter school will open," he said.

School Board Chairwoman Rosanne Brandeburg said she was worried the charter did not present definitive plans on its location. If placed in a low-enrollment area, it could create empty classrooms in traditional schools. But during a School Board workshop focused on the charter school's plans, organizer William Orris said the school is also looking at places to open in south Lake.

"We have areas where we can use some relief, and we have areas where we don't need any relief," Brandeburg said.

Also, Superintendent Susan Moxley called the charter's plans for special-education students a "huge concern." The charter plans to mainstream special-ed students, and those who cannot be mainstreamed will be referred to the school district.

The district will begin a lengthy process of negotiating the charter's contract, which is expected to go before the School Board for final approval in the spring.

Hormazabal said a public charter would allow students to continue their Montessori education without the tuition: "It's a good chance for all of the students in the area."